You Don't Know What Your Case Is Worth. They're Counting on That.

The first offer comes before anyone knows how hurt you are

The first offer often shows up fast. Sometimes in a week or two. That's before your MRI. Before you know if the pain will go away. Before anyone knows what this crash will cost you.

That timing is on purpose. The first number isn't what your case is worth. It's what they think you'll take. An attorney looking at the same crash may count things that offer left out, like care you still need, work you can't do, and how long this will last.

What an attorney doesAn attorney counts everything the first offer left out, before you say yes.

The friendly adjuster has one job, and it isn't helping you

The adjuster may be nice. They may call a lot. But they work for the insurance company. Their job is to close your claim fast, for as little as they can.

• "How are you feeling?" If you say "I'm doing better," it can go in your file and come back later.
• "Can we record this call?" You usually don't have to give the other driver's insurance a recorded statement.
• "Just sign this form." Some forms let them see years of your medical history, not just this crash. They look for anything to blame your pain on.
• "Here's an offer." It tends to come while the bills pile up, so it feels bigger than it is.

They do this every day. Most people only go through it once.

What an attorney doesOnce you have an attorney, the adjuster deals with them, not you.

That check can end your case for good

A check from insurance can feel like help. But the check, or the paper that comes with it, may say that signing or cashing it settles your claim. Once it's done, your case may be over, even if you get worse later.

And crash injuries often show up late. A sore neck turns into a disc problem. Headaches start weeks later. A back that felt fine can put you out of work months down the road. The early offer comes before any of that shows up.

Before you sign or cash anything, find out what your case is really worth.

What an attorney doesAn attorney reads the fine print before you sign or cash anything.

Your case is made of more than your medical bills

Most people think a case is just the bills plus a little extra. It's a lot more than that. Here's what can go into it:

• Care you already had. The ER, doctors, scans, therapy.
• Care you still need. Surgery, shots, more therapy, down the road.
• Pay you lost. The days and weeks you missed.
• Pay you can't earn anymore. If you can't go back to the same work. This is often the biggest part, and the one people forget.
• Your car. The repair, plus the value it lost with a crash on its record.
• Your pain, and your life. Sleep, your hobbies, playing with your kids, your normal day.

The offer in front of you may be built on just one or two of these. They're betting you don't know the whole list.

What an attorney doesAn attorney counts every part of your case, not just the two insurance picked.

There may be more than one insurance policy on your crash

Most people think there's one policy: the other driver's. But money can come from more places than that:

• The other driver's policy. The one everybody knows about.
• Your own uninsured and underinsured coverage. It can help when the other driver has too little insurance, or none.
• Your own medical payments coverage, if you have it. It can help pay medical bills no matter who caused the crash.
• An umbrella or business policy. Some drivers have extra coverage on top of their car insurance.

Insurance doesn't have to point any of these out. They answer what you ask, and not one thing more. If you don't know what to ask, money can get left on the table.

What an attorney doesAn attorney checks every policy on your crash. Insurance won't.

Was the other driver working when they hit you?

This one question can change a whole case. If the driver was on the job, like driving for a company, making deliveries, or driving for a rideshare or delivery app, their work's insurance may cover the crash too. Not just their own.

Business policies are often much bigger than a normal car policy. Some are $1 million or more. But the truck may have no logo on it, and the adjuster won't bring it up. Someone has to ask what the driver was doing.

What an attorney doesAn attorney asks what the other driver was doing, and who they worked for.

Partly your fault? In California, you can still have a case

A lot of people never call anyone because they think the crash was partly their fault. Maybe you pulled out. Maybe you didn't see them coming.

In California, being partly at fault doesn't end your case. It lowers it by your share. If you were 30% at fault, you can still go after the other 70%.

And that fault number isn't set in stone. If you said "it was my fault" at the scene or on the phone, it may be in your file. An attorney can look at what really happened, like videos, photos, and witnesses, and that number can change.

What an attorney doesAn attorney can use videos, photos and witnesses to push your fault number down.

The policy limit isn't always the end of the story

Every car policy has a limit. In California, the smallest a driver can carry is $30,000 for one person's injuries. When your case is worth more, the adjuster may say the limit like the talk is over.

Here's what they may not say. If your attorney makes a proper offer to settle for the limit, and the insurance company turns it down, the company may end up owing more than the limit if a court later awards more.

But it has to be done right, and on time. It isn't something to handle with a phone call. Done wrong, the limit really may be the limit.

What an attorney doesAn attorney knows how to make that demand the right way, and on time.